Calomeria amaranthoides, which is more commonly known as Incense Plant or Plum Bush, is from the daisy family Asteraceae. Its appearance is somewhat similar to that of a tobacco plant, having lime-green, wrinkly leaves from which emit an aromatic scent and are sticky to touch. The plant is biennial, and flowers in a range of colours from a whitish pink, a range of pink shades, and the most commonly occurring flower colour, red. The flower heads are plumed in appearance and are highly valued in the cut-flower industry.
Calomeria amaranthoides is a native Australian plant, and grows along river flats and in coastal regions of New South Wales and Victoria. The leaves of the plants are part of the diet of native Australian animals living in these areas, and it is apparent that there is little or no toxicity present in animals relying on these plants as a food source. This information, combined with the handling of the flowers of Calomeria amaranthoides by humans during harvesting and floral arrangement, provides an expectation of low toxicity to mammals in the use of Calomeria amaranthoides extracts as drugs.
The present inventor has now determined that extracts of Calomeria amaranthoides exhibit potent and selective cytotoxic properties towards certain cell types exhibiting hyperproliferative cellular division, and in particular, to cancerous cell types, but not to a variety of normal cells.